There is no spoon

[blue9steel]

Nice squats and deads. That was a lot of volume on deads in a weeks time though it seems to be working well for you. Nice numbers in here.

My take is that mixed grip deadlifts create a lot more strain on the back muscles since the weight is offset. Double overhand w/straps I don't find the higher workload to be a problem as long as I watch my total volume. I'm only hitting deads twice every eight training days so when you account for weekends the average frequency isn't actually that high. The other two cycles I do power cleans and hip thrusts instead which seems to balance it out. I suspect my leverages for deadlifts are good as well.

Squats on the other hand I just suck at, mostly due to various posture and flexibility issues. I've gotten better at them over time but it's been a long hard grind. On the plus side I think SSB squats are nicely hitting some of my weak points and I'm hoping to get some good gains out of that.

[blue9steel]

Friday Oct 11 - Deload Pull Day
-------------------------------------
Posture Work [EXTD 15x5-60s]
DB Pullovers 3x12DPx80w40 SETS: 12 12 8/4
Face Pulls (3s) 5x15DPx30 SETS: 13 13 13 13 13
Kroc Rows 1x30DPx85w60x5 SETS: 25
Rear Delt Raise 3x8x147w95
Hip Thrusts (3s) 3x8x315
HIPF 3E-40s

1. New Rogue hip thruster bench worked well.
2. Finally figured out why the Powertec was making noise / less smooth on face pulls. The cable is scraping the frame because they have the pulley buried too far into the support. Tried doing them kneeling but didn't like the angle, not sure how to work around this.

[blue9steel]

Monday Oct 14 - Deload Push Day
----------------------------------------
Warmup [BIKE-5m@16]
Incline Laterals(3s) 3x15DPx12 SETS: 12 12 12
Reverse Lunges 3x3Ex168.25w95
Incline DB Press 3x12DPx50 SETS: 8 8 8
Wrist Roller [DORSx3-60s] 3x3Ex83.5w50
OVHD 3x95-40s

[blue9steel]

Tuesday Oct 15 - Mass Pull Day
-------------------------------------
Posture Work [CHINx6-40s+NODx20]
Neutral Pullups 3x8xbw SETS: 8 6/6 6/6/5
Cable Rows (3s) 3x12DPx200w110 SETS: 9 9 6/3
Trap Bar Shrugs 3x8x185w135
CS::Power Cleans/GHR 4x5x162w135 :: 4x5xbw (green)
XLEG 3x50-60s

GHRs are starting to go better, I felt like I got full extension today. I'm not ready to move up a band so I'm going to increase reps instead.

[blue9steel]

Wednesday Oct 16 - Mass Push Day
-----------------------------------------
Warmup [BIKE-5m@16]
Arnold Press 3x12DPx45w25 SETS: 11 11 11
CS::Front/Overhead Squats 3x5x126w135P5T5/45 :: 3x5x68.5w45
DB Bench 3x15DPx50 SETS: 12 12 12
Platform Calf Raises 3x20x105
WSST EZ+13x3-60s

[blue9steel]

Thursday Oct 17 - Strength Pull Day
------------------------------------------
Posture Work [EXTD 15x5-60s]
Chinups 3x5x22.25wbw
T-Bar Rows 3x5x193w135
CS::TRX Reverse Flyes/Bent Laterals 5x12 :: 5x12DPx10 SETS: 12 12 12 12 12
Deadlifts 3x5x421w315M6
XLEG 3x50-60s

Five sets on the flyes/laterals takes too long, I'm going to drop that to three sets going forward.

The sweat pants / moxy socks / form change solved my shin scraping problem. The only downside is that the weights are bouncing more at the bottom so I lost a bit of rep quality, still for bodybuilding purposes I think that's an acceptable tradeoff.

[PTzFree]

Real nice setup and equipment choices.
Currently building my own garage gym.
Got the barbell, weights, and dumbells.
Just need to finish the wall so I can mount the rack.

[blue9steel]

Real nice setup and equipment choices.
Currently building my own garage gym.
Got the barbell, weights, and dumbells.
Just need to finish the wall so I can mount the rack.

I'm very happy with it. The only piece that was really a compromise was the Powertec, good for the price and footprint but if you have the money/space then get something else.

The time savings and convenience of having a home gym is amazing, totally worth it.

[blue9steel]

Friday Oct 18 - Strength Push Day
----------------------------------------
Warmup [BIKE-5m@16]
Bradford Press 3x5x96wbar
SSB Squats 3x5x170w135
CS::Roman Situps/Reverse Curls 3x15DPx20 SETS: 13 13 13 :: EZ+21-3x10
Fat Bench 3x5x167.5w135/Bar
OVHD 3x95-40s

Bench was harder than expected today, apparently I went up too fast, going to hold there a bit till I catch up. For some reason my setup was too close to the monos today, I hit them on the way up several times. I don't feel like I did anything different but I'll have to focus on better positioning next time.

SSB Squats still progressing nicely.

[blue9steel]

Monday Oct 21 - Power Pull Day
-------------------------------------
Posture Work [CHINx6-40s+NODx20]
Pullups [HANGx3-30s] {HOLDx3-25s} 3x3x43.25wbw
V Pulldowns (3s) 3x12DPx140w100 SETS: 10 10 8/2
Bent Rows 3x3x240w185
Deadlifts [BANKx225x2-30s] 3x3x453w315M6

Tried something different on the deadlifts today and used my old texas power bar instead of the olympic wl bar. Didn't bang up my shins and I didn't have to let it bounce at the bottom. Moxy socks and sweats were more than enough to protect me with the smoother knurling on that bar. I didn't miss the extra whip at all so I'm going to keep that change for a while and see how it goes.

[blue9steel]

Tuesday Oct 22 - Power Push Day
---------------------------------------
Warmup [BIKE-5m@16]
Overhead Press 3x3x158.5w95
Squats 3x3x295.5w225/135P5T5
Bench 3x3x203w135
Dips 3x8x36wbw
WSST EZ+14x3-60s

1. Much better workout this time than last cycle, finished all reps on bench and OHP.
2. Moved my setup on bench and was able to avoid the monos no problem today. Still love them for bench press.
3. My squat form has me hitting the monos often on the way up unless I'm really careful, today I just stepped back a bit instead. Not sure if that means there is a problem with my form, my posture or the monos but I decided I don't really care and will probably just do a small back step regularly. I got the monos mostly for bench and if they weren't such a pain to move I'd likely use j-hooks for squatting anyways.
4. Squats are starting to move up regularly, I think my recent routine changes are hitting my weak points better and giving me more squat volume. Very happy with this since they've been stuck or grinding up slow for a quite a while.
5. Bench progress still sucks but my shoulder pain is nearly gone. Between the monos and the new form I think I've stopped whatever I was doing that was causing me to get injured and allowed it to heal up. I feel like I could probably use more bench volume if I can figure out a way to squeeze it in.

[blue9steel]

Wednesday Oct 23 - Deload Pull Day
------------------------------------------
Posture Work [EXTD 15x5-60s]
DB Pullovers 3x12DPx80w40 SETS: 12 12 9/3
Face Pulls (3s) 5x15DPx30 SETS: 14 14 14 14 14
Kroc Rows 1x30DPx85w60x5 SETS: 26
Rear Delt Raise 3x8x147.5w95
Hip Thrusts (3s) 3x8x315
HIPF 3E-40s

[blue9steel]

Thursday Oct 24 - Deload Push Day
-----------------------------------------
Warmup [BIKE-5m@16]
Incline Laterals(3s) 3x15DPx12 SETS: 13 13 13
Reverse Lunges 3x3Ex168.5w95
Incline DB Press 3x12DPx50 SETS: 9 9 9
Wrist Roller [DORSx3-60s] 3x3Ex83.75w50
OVHD 3x95-40s

[blue9steel]

Friday Oct 25 - Mass Pull Day
----------------------------------
Posture Work [CHINx6-40s+NODx20]
Neutral Pullups 3x8xbw SETS: 8 6/6 6/6/6
Cable Rows (3s) 3x12DPx200w110 SETS: 9 9 7/2
Trap Bar Shrugs 3x8x185w135 SETS: 9 9 9
CS::Power Cleans/GHR 4x5x163w135 :: 4x6xbw (green)
XLEG 3x50-60s

I wanted to be sure I had shrugs nailed so I did extra reps today instead of going up in weight but I think I'm going to stick with weight progression going forward. GHRs are going well, full extension today.

[blue9steel]

Monday Oct 28 - Mass Push Day
-------------------------------------
Warmup [BIKE-5m@16]
Arnold Press 3x12DPx45w25 SETS: 11 11 11
CS::Front/Overhead Squats 3x5x127w135P5T5/45 :: 3x5x69w45
DB Bench 3x15DPx50 SETS: 13 13 13
Platform Calf Raises 3x20x110
WSST EZ+15x3-60s

[blue9steel]

Tuesday Oct 29 - Strength Pull Day
----------------------------------------
Posture Work [EXTD 15x5-60s]
Chinups 3x5x22.5wbw
T-Bar Rows 3x5x194w135
CS::TRX Reverse Flyes/Bent Laterals 3x10 :: 3x12DPx12 SETS: 8 8 8
Deadlifts 3x5x422w315M6
XLEG 3x50-60s

[blue9steel]

Wednesday Oct 30 - Strength Push Day
---------------------------------------------
Warmup [BIKE-5m@16]
Bradford Press 3x5x96.5wbar
SSB Squats 3x5x175w135
CS::Roman Situps/Reverse Curls 3x15DPx20 SETS: 14 14 14 :: EZ+22-3x10
Fat Bench 3x5x167.5w135/Bar
OVHD 3x95-40s

I've been feeling very worn out and run down lately. I've been going to bed early and yesterday I needed coffee in the afternoon to keep working. For me that's generally a sign that I'm close to my limit so I've decided to end my cut a week and a half early instead of pushing through and risking getting sick. I lost 3.28lbs trend weight in 5 weeks and two days, not quite as fast as I would like (1lb/wk) but I've had trouble pushing my totals lower while still hitting my macro targets. Definitely feel and look leaner. Recently I've decided that in addition to protein (1.6g/kg) and fat(0.4g/lb) minimums I need to set a fiber minimum (30g) as well. I read some very convincing studies that suggest it has a wide variety of very positive health benefits as well as promoting satiety. Swapping out potatoes for oat bran for weekend breakfasts, shifting my fruit choices and adding more fibrous veggies at dinner hasn't been too hard and seems to have added most of the missing grams. I'm going to be moving my calories up to stable levels and just trying to maintain my current weight through the holidays.

[shaneinga]

Swinging by to give kudos on those deadlifts. Looking good in here. Good luck maintaining you weight through the holidays.

[blue9steel]

Swinging by to give kudos on those deadlifts. Looking good in here. Good luck maintaining you weight through the holidays.

Thanks, the holidays were my nemesis last year but I figured out a much better way to manage higher calorie periods this year so I'm hopeful.

[blue9steel]

Thursday Oct 31 - Power Pull Day
---------------------------------------
Posture Work [CHINx6-40s+NODx20]
Pullups [HANGx3-30s] {HOLDx3-25s} 3x3x43.5wbw
V Pulldowns (3s) 3x12DPx140w100 SETS: 10 10 6/4
Bent Rows 3x3x240.5w185
Deadlifts [BANKx225x2-30s] 3x3x454w315M6

I was dragging this morning but I pushed through and finished. Was feeling wiped out last night and took a nap after work. Had a larger dinner last night and a bigger breakfast this morning, hopefully I can get things turned around in the next few days.

[blue9steel]

Friday Nov 1 - Power Push Day
------------------------------------
Warmup [BIKE-5m@16]
Overhead Press 3x3x158.75w95
Squats 3x3x296w225/135P5T5
Bench 3x3x203.25w135
Dips 3x8x36.5wbw
WSST EZ+15x3-60s

Starting to feel better today, I think I headed things off before I went too far. Squats still moving up consistently, bench press still being a jerk.

[blue9steel]

Monday Nov 4 - Deload Pull Day
-------------------------------------
Posture Work [EXTD 15x5-60s]
DB Pullovers 3x12DPx80w40 SETS: 12 12 12
Face Pulls (3s) 5x15DPx30 SETS: 15 15 15 15 15
Kroc Rows 1x30DPx85w60x5 SETS: 27
Rear Delt Raise 3x8x148w95
Hip Thrusts (3s) 3x8x320
HIPF 3E-40s

Feeling MUCH better than last week, even managed to stay up late to watch a movie last night.

[blue9steel]

Tuesday Nov 5 - Deload Push Day
---------------------------------------
Warmup [BIKE-5m@16]
Incline Laterals(3s) 3x15DPx12 SETS: 14 14 14
Reverse Lunges 3x3Ex168.75w95
Incline DB Press 3x12DPx50 SETS: 10 10 10
Wrist Roller [DORSx3-60s] 3x3Ex84w50
OVHD 3x95-40s

[blue9steel]

Wednesday Nov 6 - Mass Pull Day
---------------------------------------
Posture Work [CHINx6-40s+NODx20]
Neutral Pullups 3x8xbw SETS: 8 8 6/6 6/5
Cable Rows (3s) 3x12DPx200w110 SETS: 9 9 9
Trap Bar Shrugs 3x8x186w135
CS::Power Cleans/GHR 4x5x164w135 :: 4x7xbw (green)
XLEG 3x50-60s

[blue9steel]

Thursday Nov 7 - Mass Push Day
--------------------------------------
Warmup [BIKE-5m@16]
Arnold Press 3x12DPx45w25 SETS: 12 12 6/6
CS::Front/Overhead Squats 3x5x128w135P5T5/45 :: 3x5x69.5w45
DB Bench 3x15DPx50 SETS: 14 14 14
Platform Calf Raises 3x20x115
WSST EZ+15x3-60s

[blue9steel]

Friday Nov 8 - Strength Pull Day
-------------------------------------
Posture Work [EXTD 15x5-60s]
Chinups 3x5x22.75wbw
T-Bar Rows 3x5x195w135
CS::TRX Reverse Flyes/Bent Laterals 3x10 :: 3x12DPx12 SETS: 9 9 9
Deadlifts 3x5x423w315M6
XLEG 3x50-60s

[blue9steel]

Monday Nov 11 - Strength Push Day
------------------------------------------
Warmup [BIKE-5m@16]
Bradford Press 3x5x97wbar
SSB Squats 3x5x180w135
CS::Roman Situps/Reverse Curls 3x15DPx20 SETS: 15 15 12/3 :: EZ+23-3x10
Fat Bench 3x5x167.5w135/Bar
OVHD 3x95-40s

[blue9steel]

Tuesday Nov 12 - Power Pull Day
--------------------------------------
Posture Work [CHINx6-40s+NODx20]
Pullups [HANGx3-30s] {HOLDx3-25s} 3x3x43.5wbw
V Pulldowns (3s) 3x12DPx140w100 SETS: 10 10 10
Bent Rows 3x3x240.5w185
Deadlifts [BANKx225x2-30s] 3x3x454w315M6

I think I may have copied the wrong day into my journal this morning and done the same weights as last time by accident. Not a huge deal. Pullups and bent rows I probably could have gone up, V Pulldowns came out right anyways due to rep progression, deadlifts were fairly grindy so it probably helped a bit.

[blue9steel]

Wednesday Nov 13 - Power Push Day
--------------------------------------------
Warmup [BIKE-5m@16]
Overhead Press 3x3x159w95
Squats 3x3x296.5w225/135P5T5
Bench 1x3x203.55w135 B@3x12DPx155 SETS 10 8 6
Dips 3x8x37wbw
WSST EZ+16x3-60s

What I've been doing on bench hasn't been working that great for progress even though my shoulder is feeling healthy again. I'm pretty sure the issue is insufficient volume but I couldn't find anywhere in my routine to just add more benching. I decided I'm going to try switching to one heavy triple on power day then use three backoff sets to get more volume. This change will likely have some negative impact on my progress with dips, but that's an acceptable tradeoff if it works.

[blue9steel]

Thursday Nov 14 - Deload Pull Day
----------------------------------------
Posture Work [EXTD 15x5-60s]
DB Pullovers 3x12DPx82.5w40 SETS: 8 8 8
Face Pulls (3s) 5x15DPx40 SETS: 10 10 10 10 10
Kroc Rows 1x30DPx85w60x5 SETS: 28
Rear Delt Raise 3x8x148.5w95
Hip Thrusts (3s) 3x8x320
HIPF 3E-40s